A. Field of the Invention
The embodiments of the present invention relate to a machine for processing fabric, and more particularly, the embodiments of the present invention relate to a machine for converting a fabric from a rolled fabric into a superimposingly folded fabric for delivery to a dyeing machine.
B. Description of the Prior Art
Knitted fabric from a knitting machine is in roll form. Previously, the rolls averaged approximately 12″ in diameter and weighted approximately 35 lbs. Today, they are making rolls approximately 48″ in diameter and weighing approximately 500 lbs.
The easiest way to handle the rolls is to roll them on the floor. They, however, have to be unrolled, inspected, and put in trucks in folded form for delivery to the dyeing machines.
Numerous innovations for fabric folders have been provided in the prior art that will be discussed below, which are in chronological order to show advancement in the art, and which are incorporated herein by reference thereto. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they each differ in structure, and/or operation, and/or purpose from the embodiments of the present invention in that they do not teach a machine for converting a fabric from a rolled fabric into a superimposingly folded fabric for delivery to a dyeing machine.
(1) U.S. Pat. No. 240,390 to Cross et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 240,390 issued to Cross et al. on Apr. 19, 1881 teaches a folding machine including conical folding and feeding rolls arranged and operating to carry along a paper sheet faster at one side than at the other, thereby partially turning the paper sheet, so that when the fold is completed what were the front and rear edges will have become the side edges of the sheet, and apparatus for tucking the paper sheet to be folded into the bite of the rolls.(2) U.S. Pat. No. 275,154 to Cross.U.S. Pat. No. 275,154 issued to Cross on Apr. 3, 1883 teaches a machine for folding paper, including endless tapes, rolls for supporting and driving the endless tapes, pin- or brad-armed bars carried by the endless tapes, strippers for disengaging the sheets from the brads, a slotted folding table, and a tucker blade for tucking the sheet down through the slot in the table. These parts are arranged, operated, and timed in their movements relative to one another.(3) U.S. Pat. No. 2,637,551 to Young.U.S. Pat. No. 2,637,551 issued to Young on May 5, 1953 in class 270 and subclass 62 teaches an apparatus for folding sheet material, including apparatus for furnishing a continuous web of sheet material, apparatus for reversely folding the material upon itself to form a series of superimposed layers, and oppositely rotating rolls located below the chute in a position to receive the layers thereon and cause outermost portions of each bottom layer to move toward one another into doubled over relationship. The rolls are spaced-apart to provide a guide-way into which successive doubled-over layers of material are advanced in nested relationship to one another. Apparatus receives the nested layers as they leave the guide-way, and a plurality of nip rolls are arranged to engage opposite sides of the nested material during movement thereof.(4) U.S. Pat. No. 2,754,113 to Sjostrom.U.S. Pat. No. 2,754,113 issued to Sjostrom on Jul. 10, 1956 in class 270 and subclass 84 teaches a system for effecting parallel folds of sheet material, including a central plate, side plates, apparatus for feeding the sheet material under the central plate and over the side plates, a holding element having a clamping plate positioned beneath the central plate, electronic apparatus having elements operative on the approach of the sheet being fed and on withdrawal of the sheet being fed to bring the clamping plate against the central plate, pneumatic cylinder and piston apparatus for each of the side plates for moving them inwardly of the central plate and outwardly therefrom, apparatus included in the electronic apparatus operative by the elements for initiating the operation of the pneumatic cylinder and piston apparatus, and switching apparatus also included in the electronic apparatus for establishing a cycle of operation of the pneumatic cylinder and piston apparatus in which the first piston traveling inwards causes the second piston to follow in similar opposed motion after a predetermined time travel.(5) U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,470 to Buss et al.U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,470 issued to Buss et al. on Aug. 14, 1973 in class 270 and subclass 80 teaches a sheet-folding machine having an endless belt conveyor for moving a sheet mounted between a pair of spaced end frames. A folder bar is pivotally mounted at the output end of the conveyor belt, and a curved operator bar is mounted below the input end of the conveyor belt so as to be pivotable between start and stop positions. The folder bar is preferably operated by an electric motor drive. A return chute is positioned below the conveyor belt and is adjustably mounted between the end frames. A control system is responsive to the movement of a sheet on the conveyor belt or which is responsive to the operator bar for actuating the folder bar in the proper direction and at the proper time in order to make folds in the sheet.(6) U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,227 to Landgraf et al.U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,227 issued to Landgraf et al. on Nov. 29, 1977 in class 270 and subclass 66 teaches a small-piece folder capable of forming both a French fold and cross fold, including a feed belt on which the unfolded articles are initially placed. Adjustable width control blades overlie the feed belt, and the margins of the article are pneumatically blown over the edges of the blades in sequence to form the French fold. The cross fold is also pneumatically initiated at the end of the feed belt.(7) U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,959 to Baccianti.U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,959 issued to Baccianti on Mar. 4, 1986 in class 493 and subclass 458 teaches a fabric folding machine including a conveyor belt on which the fabric is held and its motion controlled by suction. A pair of lateral blades are hinged about an axis parallel to a fabric-feed direction for creating longitudinal folds. Transverse folds are produced by comb-like blades hinged perpendicular to the fabric feed direction. Two sets of comb-like blades are provided, which are movable in opposite senses. One of the two sets of comb-like blades can assume two or more positions. The lateral blades can also be adjusted in terms of their distance apart, orthogonal to the fabric feed direction.(8) U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,647 to Weiermann et al.U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,647 issued to Weiermann et al. on Jul. 30, 1996 in class 493 and subclass 444 teaches a folding apparatus for automatic folding of flatwork, including a longitudinal folder and a transverse folder following thereafter. In the transverse folder there are two laundry conveyors disposed one behind the other in the conveying direction of a flatwork article arriving from the longitudinal folder. They are spaced-apart by a gap stretching essentially across the entire width of the transverse folder. To make a first transverse fold using a folding blade or air blast, a flatwork article to be transversely folded is led into the gap. Prior to this step, the thickness of the flatwork article to be folded is entered into a data-entry device or is determined using a measuring device. The width of the gap is adjustable, depending upon the particular thickness of the flatwork article. In this manner, optimal conveying along the gap is achieved of a flatwork article having a first transverse fold, independent of thickness. A further laundry conveyor is disposed at the exit end of the gap and the course of its belts located in the area of the gap end can be changed by adjusting an adjustment roller. Following the making of a second transverse fold, the belts can be lowered in the area, by which the flatwork article can reach the output location without having to queue up at a narrow point.(9) U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,232 to Schmitt et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,232 issued to Schmitt et al. on Jun. 5, 2001 in class 270 and subclass 30.01 teaches an apparatus for folding a textile fabric length, including at least two transport belts that can be driven in opposite directions, wherein a gap is disposed between the transport belts, through which gap the fabric length can be drawn while forming a fold when the transport belts are driven in opposite directions. In order to achieve greater folding accuracy, a gripping member is disposed above the two transport belts, which member can move substantially parallel to the upper side of the transport belts and can be brought to lie between the front and the back end of the unfolded fabric length with a fixing action.(10) U.S. Pat. No. 6,899,043 to Muessig et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,899,043 issued to Muessig et al. on May 31, 2005 in class 112 and subclass 475.06 teaches a method and a device for cutting and folding a fabric section from a continuous material sheeting for producing multilayer casings, in particular, pillowcases, including a first gripper securing and pulling off the front edge of the material sheeting by a first partial amount. A second gripper secures the material sheeting behind the front edge to form a folded edge, which can be pulled off by a second partial amount, and at the same time, folded together in multiple layers by movement of the second gripper combined with resetting of the first gripper, and a cutting device cuts the material sheeting to form the fabric section, the length of which between the front edge and the rear edge corresponds to the sum of the first and second partial amounts.
It is apparent that numerous innovations for fabric folders have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be used. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the embodiments of the present invention as heretofore described, namely, a machine for converting a fabric from a rolled fabric into a superimposingly folded fabric for delivery to a dyeing machine.